Surgical knife



June 13, 1933. J, OGDEN 1,914,153

SURGICAL KNIFE Filed sept. V8, 1951 Patented June 13, 1933 UNITED STATES JOHN J. OGDEN, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE SURGICAL KNIFE Application filed September 8, 1931. Serial No. 561,517.

This invention relates to improvements in knives which comprise a holder and interchangeableblades therefor, and particularly to such knives for surgical use.

In surgical operations it is of extreme importance that very sharp knives be used, lthat these'knives should be shaped, so far as their cutting edges are concerned, for the particular operation 'for which they are to be used, and. that they should be thoroughly sterilized before using.

These conditions are most effectively met by the use of individual blades iii connection with the holder. Where such holder and blades are employed it is of eXtreme importance that the blades shall be rigidly held in the holder, that after use they should be readily removable, and that such removal should be accomplished with minimum dan ger to the operator charged with the duty of removing a blade often dangerously infected.

The objects of the present invention are First, to make a holder and iiisertable blade therefor which are rigidly locked together by the insertion of the blade. in the holder;

Second, to make a holder and blade therefor in which the blade is not weakened toperl mit its insert-ion in the holder and in which the holder reinforces and strengthens the blade secured therein;

Third, to make a holder and blade there- .Y for in which ejection of the blade is largely liu understood from the following specification on reference to the accompanying drawing,

lin which Y Fig. 1 is a side view of my improved holder with blade inserted therein;

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same blade and holder;

line VI-VI of Fig. 5, but with the blade i510 removed.

Referring now to the drawing iii which the Various parts are indicated by numerals, 10 is a knife handle, and 11 a blade secured ,j

thereto. The handle 10 has an integral ex- U5 tension 12 of less thickness and preferably of less width than the handle. Adjacent the outer end of this extension the side edges 13 extendupward and are turned inward, or w are undercut, forming facing and opposed i grooves 141 (most clearly .shown in Fig. 6) which grooves receive the shank 15 of the blade. These grooved sides oi' blade retainers may lie parallel but preferably di- Y verge toward the end of the extension.

edges, and in the latter case is tapered to conform to the divergence of the grooved retainers. Extending inward from a point intei-mediate the inner ends of the blade re` 0 tainers 13 and the body of the handle, the handle extension 12 is again reduced in thicknessr at 12A, and a portion 10A of the handle body is correspondingly cut away to This '85 provide a seat for a blade ejector. ejector comprises a body portion 16 which lies on the seat 10A in t-he handle body and is pivotally secured thereto as by a pin 17. The ejector is also provided with an extension 18 complementary to the handle eX- f90 tension 12A from which ejector extension a wedge shaped lug 19 projects upward. The lug 19 coacts with a slot 20 in the inner end of the blade shank to securely latch the blade in place. The outer end V19A of the lug 19 aresubstantially flush Vwith the surface of the ejector extension 18, and from these edges the lug slopes upward to its greatest height at the corner 19C so that in 1 end elevation'as shown in Fig.' 6,the 'lug 19 10 'H1915 blade shank in the former case has parallel and side 19B 95 appears as a transversely disposed triangle and the same is true of any longitudinal sec.- tion thereof as typically shown in Fig. 5. Preferably the ejector shank 18 is made somewhat thicker at the rear than at the forward end in order to hold the inner end of the blade shank slightly upwardly bent and exert a tightening strainl bet-Ween the blade and retainer grooves.

The forward end 16A. of the ejector body is arcuately curved eccentric to the pin 17 and is of greater thickness than the shank 18 so that such forward edge forms a cam for the ejection of the blade.

The blade 11 is made of thin steel with an elongated shank 15 which is either parallel or slightly tapered to conform tothe parallelism or divergence of 'the blade retainers 13 and the hole 2O in the rear end of this shank is preferably rectangular in shape. The cutting edge of the blade is shaped foi` the particular use for which it is designed.

To use the knife the blade ejector is turned to closed position being that indicated in F ig. 1. The shank of the blade is slid into the slots in the retainers 13 and backward therethrough until the rear end of the shank rides upward over the wedge shaped retaining lug 19, the hole in the shank registers with the lug and the shank of the blade snaps downward over the back end of the lug and thus secures the blade rigidly in position. TheI relative width of the blade and retainer are'such that the blade shank seats firmly against the sides of the retainer wall at the moment that the shank snaps into place over the lug' 19.

To remove the blade, the ejector body 16 is rotated about the pin 17 first moving the wedge shaped lug 19 laterally to wedge the rear end of the blade shank upward and disengage the back end of the hole 2O from the rear end of the lug, and thereafter by cam action on the end of the blade to force the blade outward and loosen the shank from the retainers 13. Thereafter removal of the blade may easily be completed by hand.

It will of course be understood that the ejector feature of the lholder may be eliminated it if be so desired, in which case the retaining lug is formed directly on the handle extension and detachment of the blade would be accomplished by prying the end of the blade shank upward and` pulling or forcing the blade from the holder.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

y 1. In a knife, a handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being Vspaced apart, a. cam shaped ejector pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from t-he inner ends of said retainers, said ejector havinga thinned portion extending from the cam portion toward said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially iush with the bottom of said grooves, a wedge shaped retaining lug extending upward from such thinner portion, said lug having its end adj acent said retainers substantially flush with the upper surface of such portion, and a detachable blade of thin metal, having a shank conforming in width to the spacing of said retainer grooves and in thickness to the width of saidrgrooves, said shank being of suiiiciently greater length than said retainers to extend inward beyond said retaining lug, and being apertured to engage and latch with said lug.

2. In a knife, a handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said.A retainers being spaced apart, a cam shaped ejector pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said ejector having a thinned portion extending from the cam portion toward said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially flush with the bottom of said grooves, a wedge shaped retaining lug extending upward from such thinned portion, said lug having one side edge and its end adjacent said retainers substantially iiush with the upper surface of such portion, and a detachable blade of thin metal, having a shank conforming in width to the spacing of said retainer grooves and in thickness to the width of said grooves, said shank being of sufficiently greater length than said re.- tainers to extend inward beyond said retaining lug, and being apertured to engage and latch with said lug.

3. A knife handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being spaced apart, a cam shaped ejector pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said ejector having a thinned portion extending from the cam portion toward said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion bein substantially flush withv the bottom of sai grooves, and a wedge shaped retaining lug extending upward from such thinner portion, said lug having one side edge and its end adjacent said retainers substantially flush with the upper surface of such p0rtion. l

4. In a knife, a handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being spaced apart, a part pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said part having a thinned portion extending adjacent to said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially flush with the bottoni of said grooves, a wedge shaped retaining lug extending upward from such thinner portion, said lug having its end adjacent said retainers substantially flush with the upper surface of such portion, and a detachable blade of thin metal, having a shanl7 conforming in width to the spacing of said retainer grooves and in thickness to the width of said grooves, said shank being of suiiciently greater length than said retainers to extend inward vbeyond said retaining lug, and being apertured to engage and latch with said lug. l

5. In a knife, a handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being spaced apart, apart pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said part having a thinned 'portion extending adjacent said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially flush with the bottom of said grooves, a'wedge shaped retaining lug extendin0a upward from such thinned portion, said lug having one side edge and its end adjacent said retainers substantially flush with the upper surface of such portion, and a detachable blade of thin metal, having a shank conforming' in width to the spacing of said retainer grooves and in thickness to the width of said grooves, said shank being of sufficiently greater length than said retainers to extend inward beyond said retaining lug, and being apertured to engage and latch with said lug.

6. A knife handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being spaced apart, a member pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said member having a thinned portion extendingadj acent said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially fiush with the bot tom of said grooves, and a wedge shaped retaining lug extending upward from such thinner portion, said lug having one side edge, and its end adjacent said retainers, substantially flush with the upper surface of such portion.

7. A knife, comprising a holder and a removable blade, having an apertured shank, means for locking said blade to said holder, comprising a member pivotally secured to said holder and underlying said shank, said lmember having an upwardly projecting lug, engageable with and disengageable from said aperture.

8. In a knife, a handle having facing, grooved, blade-retainers extending inward from an end thereof, said retainers being spaced apart, a part pivotally mounted on said handle and disposed inward from the inner ends of said retainers, said part having a thinned portion extending adjacent said retainers, the top surface of such thinned portion being substantially flush with the' botshank conforming in width to the spacing of said retainer grooves and in thickness to the Awidth of said grooves, said shank being of sufficiently greater length than said retainers to extend inward beyond said retaining lug, and being apertured to engage and latch with said lug.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiix my signature. A

JOI-IN J. OGDEN. 

